The present invention relates to an intermediate roller element for a universal joint.
The invention relates more particularly to a roller element for a universal joint of the type described and represented in patent document FR-A-2,580,751.
According to this design of a universal joint, termed a ball-type triplane joint, recourse is made to an intermediate roller assembly, which is arranged between one arm of the tripod and a raceway formed opposite in the barrel of the joint, of the type including a sole-plate produced in the form of a strip. One face includes at least one longitudinal roller track and balls which roll along the track and which are held by a cage produced in the form of a plate which extends in a plane substantially parallel to the overall plane of the track and which includes cells in which the balls are received.
This design of an intermediate roller assembly makes it possible to obtain satisfactory operation of the joint, but it makes assembly of the latter particularly complicated, insofar as it is necessary to install a great number of components. In particular, the strip, the balls and the cage make assembly operations particularly difficult to automate.